Signage devices associated with the display of retail merchandise are well known. Such signage devices are commonly utilized to identify products, as well as to display prices and other information regarding the products being displayed. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, there is an abundance of diverse information such as size, color, type, as well as various promotional material commonly displayed via such signage devices. In addition, governmental regulations may require that particular information be provided to potential customers. For example, the materials from which articles are constructed most frequently be listed. Additionally, the fact that certain products are approved only for specified uses must occasionally be indicated.
Contemporary signage devices generally comprise a sign holder for holding a display card or the like, and a base having one or more posts attached to the sign holder, for mounting the display in a given orientation. The base of most signage devices are optionally fixedly attached to a rack or shelf, to resist inadvertent displacement of the sign.
Examples of such contemporary signage devices are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 2,050,136 issued to Tucker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,112,583 issued to Tucker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,837 issued to Itano; U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,664 issued to De Korte; U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,572 issued to Sussman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,882 issued to Field; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,093 issued to Ernest et al.
Due to the changing of inventory or the shifting of merchandise within a store, it is often desirable to change not only the display card, but also the type of sign holder. Certain sizes and orientations of signs are more compatible with certain classes of merchandise. Most sign holders are supported by a base having a single post. The post is typically of either of a circular pin, threaded pin, or square pin configuration, depending upon the sign manufacturer and/or the design application. As such, according to contemporary practice, it is necessary to keep an inventory of sign holders of various sizes, each being adaptable to one of the three common sign posts, i.e., circular pin, threaded pin, or square pin. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is both expensive and inconvenient to maintain such an inventory.
The Ernest et al. device holder (U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,093) comprises a two-piece plastic sign holder attached to a circular, planar base via an elongate extension member. The two-piece plastic sign holder is separable so as to facilitate the placement of a display card therebetween.
The De Korte device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,664) comprises a two part sign holder formed directly to a base. The base is configured for attachment to a planar surface and incorporates holes configured to receive mounting screws. Thus, the De Korte device may be mounted to a wall or other vertical surface, as desired.
Neither the Ernest et al., nor the De Korte, nor any of the other contemporary signage devices, provide the desired flexibility by facilitating attachment to either one or two separate sign posts, particularly sign posts of different types, i.e., circular pin, threaded pin, or square pin.
Recognizing this problem, one proposed solution of the prior art was to provide a sign holder that included a clamp configuration that could be attached to each of the three common sign posts. This proved to be an ineffective remedy, however, because the forces on the sign were borne in part by the clamp, not entirely by the sign posts as is the desired method of structural support.